Very long hair and cones?

[whiteisle]

I'm trying to stick with a CO routine for a bit to really judge if it's right for my hair and so far so good. But I can't help but notice that a few longhairs with really long hair do use coney products.

So my question is: as your hair gets longer and longer does using cones start to become a necessity and/or preferable?

[BlndeInDisguise]

Well, I guess have pretty long hair, and I don't use cones. However, I stopped using them when I first started lurking on LHC, and haven't tried them since. But I like my hair without and haven't felt the need to use them. :)

[Barbie Diamond]

Yes, I need them to help keep tangles down to a minimum. My hair may not be super long but it is easily to my waist now.

[LittleOrca]

I am not sure if my hair is very long by forum standards yet, but I use cones on it because my hair is damaged from years of abuse and dying. The keep my hair manageable and my cone-free experiment on it was a disaster. Until I cut the damage off and have all virgin hair again, I am not too sure how well my hair will react to going cone-free. It's all about what your hair likes at whatever length you have it. :)

[pinkbunny]

Most of the stuff I use has cones in it, and it works for me. I had no idea there was such a thing as cones/no cones until I joined the forum a few months ago. Maybe one day I'll get bored enough to experiment with just one or the other to see if it makes a difference...

[Forever_Sophie]

I've always used cones - tried going without, too, but it just didn't work for me. I'll never be entirely silicone free...

[Sara Smile]

I've been cone-free for a little while now, and it doesn't seem to have affected my hair much one way or the other. My hair is pretty tangle-free. With cone-free and oiling, my hair is picking up more lint and thus tangles a bit more. But since my hair is virgin, the cones do not markedly decrease or increase tangles.

I think your need/use of cones depends more on your hair than it does on your length.

[DanielleRenae]

Well, I don't have really long hair when compared to so many other people here, but I cone it up on a daily basis (shampoo, detangler, frizz reducer, and now conditioner) and my hair is doing just fine. Maybe I wouldn't need the detangler or frizz reducer if I got rid of the cones, but who knows?

I want to try going cone-free someday, but I've been too lazy.

[BranwenWolf]

I really fail to see the evil in cones, they've worked for me. When I was almost at knee they worked good- they work better when I coordinate with oil and other stuff.

[Natalia]

I certainly dont have very long hair (half past waist maybe) but i found that getting rid of cones helped alot. Then again i cant use sulfates which seems to be the easiest method of removal so it balances out. All i know is that i have smoother hair and less tangles, ironic huh?

[Rhiannon7]

I've tried it all, not exactly a very long hair, but reaching waist in the next 3 months so cones work for me at the end of the game so stick to them. tried CO ( worked for a while but at the end left hair too limp.) CWC ( worked quite well, still do it.) SO (did not work beyond 1 month. too many tangles.) WO ( worked for a few weeks but ended up having to use poo after 6 weeks. summer is not the best time for WO. ) no cones condish ( works well but leaves too many tangles. fine hair and tangles do not mix.) so i ended up going back to cones, keeps tangles from getting bad and makes my hair super shiny. so i do use alot of coney products. i do clarify every 6 weeks and do alot of SMT's.

[Beatnik Guy]

It's important to remember that a lot depends on hair type, with many people with finer hair having less success with cones. I've not used anything coney for many years (although my hair strands are coarse and fairly indestructible).

[hmmm]

I know members like Aisha (who's left the forum) never used cones. Her routine was a weekly herb wash and regular oilings and henna. I think she had hair to her knees.

[Isa-belle]

My hair isn't very long, but I stopped using cones two years ago and have found other ways to keep my hair tangle-free. I really don't see myself switching back, ever. I initially stopped using cones out of concern for the environment, but after a transitional period (and needing to get rid of chemical damage) I really like my hair much better now that I'm using a bare minimal of synthetic products. The difference when I compare pictures from a few years back with current pictures is staggering - it looks like different hair altogether.

FWIW I have F/M hair.

[spidermom]

I don't have a lot of damage in my hair, and I've tried it both ways, but it's much easier for me to deal with my hair when I use cones because of the way it tangles/knots up without them.

[Fiferstone]

I used cones for over 20 years (Pantene), and have had BSL/waist length hair for most of that time, I'm a finey and when I was using cones I washed every other day. Couldn't aovid it due to the fact that my scalp hair got tremendously oily on day 2, but that routine was causing my length to dry out terribly, which brought me to LHC in the first place. I'd switched from cones to no-cones and powered through the "your hair is straw" phase you go through as your hair gets clarified. I now use no-cone products (the poo does have that coconut-derived CLS - LUSH Trichomania). Now that I know better how to treat my fine hair (thanks LHC members, too numerous to name :)), I will never go back to cones. I love the fact that I don't have to wash every day and my hair not only looks presentable, but it looks better than it ever has. It's also the longest it's ever been. Next mini-goal is tailbone.

[Heidi_234]

My hair actually doesn't mind coney or cone-free routine. I was coneless for over a year, but this winter my hair just freaked out. I'm back on cones, but it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference. I think cones do not contribute that much, but if you avoid shampooing, it could be much bigger factor in determining if you need them or not.

[HildeMV]

I've always used cones and it works for me.

[Fractalsofhair]

When I had very long hair, cones made it break off to my shoulders(Legs/thigh, I remember it as being waist, but pictures say otherwise!). My hair is very fine and easily damaged. I think it was the sulfate shampoo that did that to my hair!

[Othala]

For me it depends on which cones. My hair responds well to cyclomethicone and the ~xanes but not to dimethicone and amodimethicone. I like low-cone products rather than no-cone products.

[Naamah]

My hair is only waist length, but I prefer not to use cones. My hair is softer and more shiny without them. I tried using cones about a month or two ago to see the difference, and I hated my hair with them. Might have just been the conditioner I was using, I'll try it again sometime probably.

[Rivanariko]

I think it totally depends on your individual hair. The few no-cone experiments I've done have resulted in my hair FREAKING out, getting really dry and straw like, splitting and breaking all over the place, tangling if I was sitting perfectly still in a draft-free room... so I'm back on cones and my hair is quite happy. I'm not really long, getting oh-so-close to hip, but I have a feeling I'll be using cones throughout my growth.

[Longlocks3]

OH NO! The cone debate!

Up until tailbone length I unintentionally used cone, simply because I was clueless about them! About 7 months ago I stopped using them completely and I have seen no difference. I HAVE seen a difference because of taking better care of my hair with oilings, gentle brushing and all that jazz.

It may be because my hair is virgin though, but cones didn't do squat for me and I can live without them.

But I think whatever you decide at this point, I wouldn't keep it as a hard and fast routine. If using cones does work for you right now, I'd say go for it. But be prepared to find later on that they may not work for you, at longer lengths. And the opposite is true, of course! If I try cones later on and they work better for me, I would totally use them.